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Would handguns be butterflied away altogether in such a TL, or would their eventual development somewhere else be inevitable regardless? If the latter, where and when else might they be developed instead? How underdeveloped would TTL's handguns be in comparison to those IOTL in the equivalent era? And how profoundly could these changes affect the balance of world power, and the course of world history?
In the former instance, if hand cannon are never invented- and perhaps even the latter scenario, if they're invented too late for the development of more sophisticated firearms from their base design to be deemed worthwhile- what kind of weapons might end up taking pride of place on the battlefield ITTL by the time we reach the 20th century? Some form of handheld rocket barrage, perhaps...